The Renaissance was known as a period of revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and, perhaps most of all, as an era of the individual. During the Renaissance, art was a branch of knowledge - a way to showcase God and his creations, science, anatomy, discoveries and to inspire people to take pleasure in the world around them. Christian art during this period was produced to enhance the worship of saintly figures by church patrons. Paintings were used, not only to tell biblical stories, but to form an emotional connection between patrons and the church. Artists during this period strived to portray events of religious importance with high drama to make a lasting impression. One such event was the crucifixion of Christ, a subject dealt with by many Renaissance artists.

One of these artists, Tommaso di Ser Giovanni de Simone Guide Cassai, better known as Masaccio, was perhaps the first great painter of the Italian renaissance. His innovations in the use of scientific perspective inaugurated the modern era in painting. Born in San Giovanni Valdarno on December, 21, 1401, Masaccio was, to quote Libero de Liberi "the youngest of all painters who were young before, during and after him who, in his few youthful years, worked the miracle of awakening in painting, breathing life into it at least real and earthy, an urgency it had never had before." Because he created a turning point in the history of painting with his own work and because he was later followed by numerous painters of great distinction, Masaccio is almost unanimously considered to be the "founder of renaissance art".

Renaissance Depictions of the Crucifixion3

One of Masaccio's most famous works is The Trinity, which was painted between 1425 and 1428. It is an excellent example of Masaccio's mastery of mathematical proportion in relation to scientific perspective. It consists of two levels of unequal height. Christ is represented on the top half in a coffered, barrel-vaulted chapel. On one side is the Virgin Mary, on the other, St. John. The second level, underneath the alter, is a tomb containing a skeleton, which may represent Adam. The vanishing point between the two levels, which brings both views together, is the masonry alter positioned at the eye level of the spectator. By doing this, he has created the illusion of an actual structure. His use of scientific perspective is "projected so accurately in terms of perspective principles" (Frederick Hartt.) that, when first completed, it was thought that Brunelleschi had actually done the painting, which shows us the powerful influence that Brunelleschi must have had on Masaccio.

Matthias Grünewald, the next artist whose work I liked, is considered one of the greatest German painters of his age. His works on religious themes achieve a visionary expressiveness through intense color and agitated line. Misnamed by 17th century sources, Grünewald may have originally been named Matthias, Mathias or Mathis Gothardt-Neithardt, and was born in Würzburg, perhaps in 1475. Grünewald's achievement in the arts remains one of the most striking in the history of northern Europe. His 10 or so paintings and approximately 35 drawings that survive are jealously guarded and carefully scrutinized today. His dramatic and intensely expressive approach to his subject can best be observed in three of his paintings of the Crucifixion (in Basle, in Washington and in Karlsruhe).

Renaissance Depictions of the Crucifixion4

Considered to be his masterpiece are the wings of the altarpiece of the Antonite monastery at Isenheim in southern Alsace, dated to 1515. There are three views of the altarpiece. The first, with the wings closed, is a Crucifixion showing a harrowingly detailed twisted and bloody figure of Christ on the cross in the center, flanked on the left by the Madonna being comforted by John and a...

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In Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the sculpture of Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni Pisano, working at Pisa, Siena and Pistoia shows markedly classicizing tendencies, probably influenced by the familiarity of these artists with ancient Roman sarcophagi. Their masterpieces are the pulpits of the Baptistery and Cathedral of Pisa. Contemporary with Giovanni Pisano, the Florentine painter Giotto developed a manner of figurative painting that was unprecedentedly naturalistic, three dimensional, life-like and classicizing, when compared with that of his contemporaries and teacher Cimabue.
Early Renaissance in Italy, 1400-1479
Italian Renaissance painting
Donatello, David Museo Nazionale Del Bargello
Donatello became renowned as the greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance, his masterpieces being his Humanist and unusually erotic statue of David, one of the icons of the Florentine republic, and his great monument to Gattamelata, the first large equestrian bronze to be created since Roman times.
High Renaissance art in Italy, 1475-1525
Italian Renaissance painting
Michelangelo, (c. 1511) The Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel ceiling
The art of Leonardo's younger contemporary Michelangelo took a very different direction....

...Kayla Cummings
2/15/2013
ARTH 104-004
A Renaissance Art Comparison
Art in the Renaissance period was majorly influenced by social, political, and cultural aspects of this time period. Art in Italy during the fifteenth century greatly influenced art throughout northern Europe. Though there are distinct differences between the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance, Italy did inspire a movement that eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. Two particular art pieces from each area that will be examined are Fra Angelico’s Annunciation from Florence, Italy, and Robert Campin’s Merode Altarpiece from Northern Europe. Not only are the elements of composition important in these two works of art, but also the style, overall meaning, and factors that lead to the production of these great paintings.
In Italy during the fifteenth century, they experienced a cultural rebirth as well as an increased interest in humanism, which reflects in the art we see from the Italian Renaissance (Kleiner). This rise of humanism eventually spread throughout Europe, which affected the art during the Northern Renaissance as well, though gothic art and architecture still remained in the north during the fifteenth century. One separation between the Northern Renaissance and the Italian Renaissance was politics. Italy was dominated by independent city-states, while...

...Summary about RenaissanceRenaissance is the Frech term was used to decribe an entire period of rebirth – “rebirth” of ancient traditional, took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity, but transformed that tradition by the absorption of recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by application of contemporary scientific knowledge. It is the painting, sculpture and decorative arts of that period of European history known as the “Renaissance”, parallel with developments which occurred in philosophy, literature, music and science. It started in Italy, take place between the 14th and 17th centuries and then spread throughout the European countries in the 16th century. It emerging as a distinct style in Italy.
Renaissance art history, especially the Italian Renaissance was devided into the 3 stages:
_ Early Renaissance (about 1420 – 1490/1500)
_ High Renaissance (about 1490/1500 – 1520)
_ Late Renaissance or Mannerism
The first stage of the Renaissance starting from the city of Firenze (Florence) with the statue of Donatello, Ghiberti picture of the reliefs, frescoes by Masaccio and the construction of Filippo Bruelleschi.
The second stage of the Renaissance. This stage was the peak of the Renaissance. This is the time to reach perfection and harmony. The central of this period is the city of...

...The Renaissance was preceded by International Gothic, a style of art and architecture that continued into the first decades of the 1400s. In Gothic art figures appear static, lacking depth, volume and pictorial realism. Artists favoured backgrounds of gold-leaf that embellished the image and accentuated its flatness. Figures become more three-dimensional, their movement fluid and natural. Detailed landscapes or Classical architectural settings demonstrate new theories of perspective.
Sacred imagery—Jesus, Mary and saints—was no longer the only subject for art. Spurred on by humanist concepts derived through the revival of Greco-Roman texts, Renaissance artists made humans central to their paintings. However, the shift from Gothic to Renaissance ideas was slow and, as a result, many paintings from the first half of the fifteenth century remain rooted in the older tradition.
The principal members of the first generation of Renaissance artists--DONATELLO in sculpture, Filippo BRUNELLESCHI in architecture, and MASACCIO in painting--shared many important characteristics. Central to their thinking was a faith in the theoretical foundations of art and the conviction that development and progress were not only possible but essential to the life and significance of the arts. Ancient art was revered, not only as an inspiring model but also as a record of trial and error that could reveal the successes of former great artists....

...Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance: Music, Architecture, Paint!
The Early Renaissance followed the middle ages and was from 1400 to 1600 time period. The Early Renaissances were mainly located in Italy, but they are also located in most of Europe. In this area Music, architecture, and painting became very huge ideas.
The literal meaning of the word Renaissance is “rebirth.” The idea of rebirth applies to the music of this period. A main characteristic was the rebirth of humanism, which is a way of looking at our world, emphasizing the importance of human beings, their nature, and their place in the world.
During the Early Renaissance vocal music was more important than instrumental music, and composers during that period wrote music to enhance the meaning and emotion of the work. Renaissance composers often used word painting, a musical representation of specific human emotions. Word painting was used in madrigals, which is a piece that matches the word of the song with a musical setting. (Early Renaissance 2) For example if the text had words like
“Rising,” “flying or soaring” then the music would be fast upward scales. (Stockstad, Marilyn and Michael W. Cothren)
The Protestant Reformation actually helped the Catholic Church begin to let the Mass become more active with polyphonic hymns. The musical boundaries were expanded because the...

...Renaissance Art
Renaissance is a French word that literally means “Rebirth” and is referring to the rebirth of learning in northern Italy after there was hardly learning in the middle ages. During the Renaissance, there was a great renewal of education and ancient times. But, the Renaissance was more than just studying works of ancient scholars; it influenced sculpture, architecture and painting. In Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the mysterious smile reflects the newly emerging Renaissance values of Humanism and The Renaissance man.
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., s.v. “Renaissance.”)
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., s.v. “Leonardo da Vinci.”)
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., s.v. “Mona Lisa”)
Humanism was a new philosophical outlook that rejects religious beliefs and centers on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. For example some human achievements and concerns were the study in philosophy, culture, human needs, desires, and experiences. Humanism not only influenced the Renaissance, it also assisted the creation of art during the Renaissance. For example most of history’s famous painters lived during the Renaissance. In Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, humanism is shown by her mysterious facial expression, which gives an indication that she’s keeping a secret. Humanism was key to the...

...The Renaissance
The Renaissance (16th and early 17th centuries): towards the end of the Middle Ages, after the loss of the English territories in France, England suffered thirty years of civil war fought by rival aristocratic families for the throne: the Wars of the Roses. The Welsh Tudor family was victorious and proceeded to secure its position. The dynasty ruled from 1485 to 1603, and was succeeded by Scottish relatives – and former opponents – the Stuarts. The military power of the aristocracy was removed: private armies were forbidden; only the crown was entitled to raise an army. The nobility’s great economic power based on land ownership remained intact. The Tudors no longer shared power with the aristocracy, as monarchs did in the Middle Ages, but ruled alone, or absolutely. Parliament existed, was involved in the legislative process but did not determine it.
The Church of Rome was another factor limiting the king’s power which the Tudors soon dealt with. In 1531 Henry VIII set up the Church of England, with himself as head, thus nationalising religion, because Vatican politics had become a threat to him. In 1538 the English were given direct access to the bible in their own language; a year later the monasteries were suppressed. Under Henry’s daughter Mary, Catholicism was restored and Protestants persecuted: 400 were burnt as heretics. I Elizabeth’s reign, when England was under threat of invasion by Spain, Catholics were...

...Renaissance is the term used to describe the period of European history that saw a renewed interest in the arts. The Renaissance began in 14th¬century Italy and spread to the rest of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this period, the fragmented feudal society of the Middle Ages, with its agricultural economy and church¬dominated intellectual and cultural life, was transformed into a society increasingly dominated by central political institutions, with an urban, commercial economy and lay patronage of education, the arts, and music.
Background
The term renaissance, meaning literally "rebirth," was first employed in 1855 by the French historian Jules Michelet to refer to the "discovery of the world and of man" in the 16th century. The great Swiss historian Jakob Burckhardt, in his classic The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), expanded on Michelet's conception. Defining the Renaissance as the period between the Italian painters Giotto and Michelangelo, Burckhardt characterized the epoch as nothing less than the birth of modern humanity and consciousness after a long period of decay. Modern scholars have exploded the myth that the Middle Ages were dark and dormant. The thousand years preceding the Renaissance were filled with achievements. Because of the scriptoria (writing rooms) of medieval monasteries, Latin writers, such as Vergil, Ovid, Cicero, and Seneca, were...